Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum “Operation Hangar Cleanup” – Part Two

The Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum is a real source of pride for anyone who lives in Compton. Housed at the Woodley Airport since 2001, it is the home of several outstanding youth programs and the first non-profit flight school in the entire country! The youth programs offer kids from the community tutoring, mentoring, and a safe place to be involved after school. Through completing various work projects they earn museum “dollars” that can be applied towards flight instruction. Founder Robin Petgrave has so much to be proud of — his youth pilots have already set more than 7 world records! TAM’s is truly a shining star in our community!

TAM’s history of success and service made it the perfect place for a huge community service event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. The stats from that day are truly impressive — 587 volunteers logged over 2300 service hours that day — cleaning out the airplane hangar, polishing the airplanes, refurbishing the museum wall dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen, — and painting, painting, painting! The hangar has been chosen as the future site of brand new STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education lab, an initiative of President Obama’s administration. In the future, Compton students can look forward to building planes and wind tunnels, forming a robotics team, and even joining a video gaming design club in that very hangar. It will be another important development in the birthing of a new Compton!

And at the core of it all will be the community spirit that was so evident on January 17th. As I look back over these pictures and reflect on the day, I am struck again by the beauty of people from all backgrounds, races, and ages working ALONGSIDE one another to serve the community. Parents brought their children, the older taught the younger, strangers worked together as though they were family. The children saw adults from our community take pride in what is already here today, with a vision for making it even greater tomorrow. It was a perfect celebration of Dr. King — it’s what his dream was all about.

It’s the community spirit that showed Compton’s greatness that day. It’s the power that will continue Compton’s transformation tomorrow.

It’s what “birthing a new Compton” is all about — and it’s what’s happening on the OTHER side of Compton!

Thank you for volunteering your time and skills to covering our event on your day off! This is an excellent compilcation of pictures, and the captions add a very nice touch. I think othersideofcompton.com is a great asset to our community, and I will share this website with everyone I know. Thanks again for your support, and for giving back to the youth in Compton!

So true, Mark! My favorite thing about the day by far was that the vast majority of volunteers were actually from our community! I appreciate outside help, but it’s best when outside help is just a supplement to all of us taking pride in what we have.

I didn’t know this was in Compton! I like discovering things through your lens Great shots. I really like the caption on the sign – A day on, not a day off – so great. Airplane hangers are so cool. I think you all need to have a celebration dance in there first!

Yes an airplane hangar is a great place for a dance. Funny that you mention it — the city where I grew up has a small airport, and one of my high school proms was there. Wonder if Woodley has ever considered renting it out for events like that, or if the high schools have ever thought of it. With a little decoration and some white lights, that place could become quite fancy!

I’M SO PROUD OF MR. PETGRAVE FOR WHAT HE’S DOING NOT JUST FOR THE YOUTH OF COMPTON BUT ANY YOUNG PERSON THAT COME THRU HIS DOORS, AS A MAN HE MAKES ME SO PROUD,HE WALKS THE WALK OF A REAL MAN THAT LOVE WHAT HE’S DOING, I’M REALLY PROUD TO BE HIS BROTHER IN MEMBERSHIP OF THE “” LOS ANGELES CHAPTER OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION’ ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH MR. PETGRAVE ON MY UPCOMING “”ROLLBOUNCE&SHOW”" CAR SHOW IN JUNE 2012 AT THE LOS ANGELES SPORTS ARENA IN ASSOCIATION WITH CALIF STATE ASSEMEMBLYMAN MIKE DAVIS OF THE 48TH DISTRICT OF LOS ANGELES, SUPPORTED BY “CALIF STATE SENTATOR RODDRICK WRIGHT”. ROBIN KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
SIMEON B. GINYARD SR.
323- 901-1959
PRES. ROLLBOUNCE& SHOW

This same hangar was home to a community fashion show just a few weeks before this cleanup. The fashion show was an excellent event, which included local fashion designers, musical and poetry performances not to mention several local vendors. It was put on entirely by a young man in Compton who runs the website http://www.thehubradio.net/2011/01/runway-flyy-was-too-fly-to-miss/

Love the photos of the fashion show and love, love TAM’s!!! I can see it as a place for so many possible community events. I still like the idea of high school proms being hosted there — to me it sounds like a great way to keep the money in community and build community pride.

My pleasure. The idea of more events (proms, etc) is a great one. Just wanted to bring to light that events do happen there. Or rather, there was the fashion show there. I really wish it had gotten more mainstream press because it is very important to realize that this was a very successful event for young adults in Compton and it was put on by a young adult.
Take care.